Rajasthan: New-born girl dumped in pit

Barmer: A new-born girl was found dumped in a pit in a deserted area in Rajasthan`s Barmer district early Sunday morning, police said. The girl, who appears to have been disowned by parents, has been adopted by an NGO.
Wrapped in a piece of cloth, she was crying when spotted by passers-by in a forested area near Sindhari village in the district, some 600 km from state capital Jaipur.
"A girl from a nearby village was passing by when she heard a child weeping. She started looking for the child and found her in a 10-foot-deep pit," a police officer told a news agency.

He added that the villagers informed the police. "The girl has been admitted to hospital," the officer said.

"It seems that the girl had been dumped Saturday night. Several incidents of disowning girl children have been reported in the area. People here prefer boys over girls," the officer said.

"We have registered a first information report and are trying to trace the girl`s parents," said the officer.

According to the Census 2011, Rajasthan has 883 girls between the ages of 0-6 for every 1,000 boys in the same age group. The child sex ratio in 2001 was 909 girls per 1,000 boys.